Bluebuck - Facts and Figures

Name: Bluebuck; also known as Hippotragus leucophaeus Habitat: Plains of South Africa Historical Epoch: Late Pleistocene-Modern (500,000-200 years ago) Size and Weight: Up to 10 feet long and 300-400 pounds Diet: Grass Distinguishing Characteristics: Long ears; thick neck; bluish fur; large horns on males About the Bluebuck European settlers have been blamed for countless species extinctions the world over, but in the case of the Bluebuck, the impact of western settlers may be oversold: the fact is that this large, muscular, donkey-eared antelope was well on its way to oblivion well before the first westerners arrived in South Africa in the 17th century. By then, it seems, climate change had already restricted the Bluebuck to a limited swatch of territory; up until about 10,000 years ago, shortly after the last Ice Age, this megafauna mammal was widely dispersed across the expanse of South Africa, but it gradually became restricted to about 1,000 square miles of grassland. The last confirmed Bluebuck sighting (and killing) occurred in Cape Province in 1800, and this majestic game animal hasnt been seen since. (See a slideshow of 10 Recently Extinct Game Animals) What set the Bluebuck on its slow, inexorable course toward extinction? According to the fossil evidence, this antelope prospered for the first few thousand years after the last Ice Age, then suffered a sudden decline in its population starting about 3,000 years ago (which was probably caused by the disappearance of its accustomed tasty grasses by less-edible forests and bushlands, as the climate warmed). The next deleterious event was the domestication of livestock by the original human settlers of South Africa, around 400 B.C., when overgrazing by sheep caused many Bluebuck individuals to starve. The Bluebuck may also have been targeted for its meat and pelt by these same indigenous humans, some of whom (ironically) worshiped these mammals as near-deities. The relative scarcity of the Bluebuck may help explain the confused impressions of the first European colonizers, many of whom were passing on hearsay or folk tales rather than witnessing this ungulate for themselves. To begin with, the fur of the Bluebuck wasnt technically blue; most likely, observers were fooled by its dark hide covered by thinning black hair, or it may have been its intermingled black and yellow fur that gave the Bluebuck its characteristic tint (not that these settlers really cared much about the Bluebucks color, since they were busy hunting herds relentlessly to clear land for pasture). Oddly enough, considering their meticulous treatment of other soon-to-be-extinct species, these settlers managed to preserve only four complete Bluebuck specimens, which are now on display in various museums in Europe. But enough about its extinction; what was the Bluebuck actually like? As with many antelopes, the males were bigger than the females, weighing upwards of 350 pounds and equipped with impressive, backward-curving horns that were used to compete for favor during mating season. In its overall appearance and behavior, the Blueback (Hippotragus leucophaeus) was very similar to two extant antelopes that still roam the coast of southern Africa, the Roan Antelope (H. equinus) and the Sable Antelope (H. niger). In fact, the Bluebuck was once considered a subspecies of the Roan, and was only later accorded full species status.

The Trade Of Counterfeit Products Essay - 5404 Words

Abstract: India is a one of the key markets of counterfeit products in South Asia which has negatively affected its economy since many years. The trade of counterfeit and pirated products hamper the development of knowledge and innovation as it can greatly reduce the economic benefits for the original creator of products. Widespread and rampant piracy and weak intellectual property rights (IPR) dilutes the development of local industry and also endangers the huge investments made in research and development work of organizations. This can lead to loss of competitive advantage as the competitiveness of firms is driven by the firm’s ability to innovate and create new products churned from its knowledge capital. Counterfeiting and piracy can exist in the market from within or due to imports from a foreign market but flourishing or controlling of it can be understood majorly by understanding the attitude of Indian consumers towards purchase of counterfeit and pirated products. The studies s o far particularly considering IPR infringements have been skewed towards Pharmaceuticals, Entertainment and Information Technology. This paper attempts to investigate and understand the Indian consumers’ awareness of IPR infringements and their attitudes and intention towards purchase of Home Appliances based on psychographic and demographic factors. Keywords: IPR, Counterfeit, Piracy, Home Appliances, Consumer, Attitudes, India INTRODUCTION: Modern India is a globalShow MoreRelatedWhat Makes Fake And What Types Of Products, There Are Fakes Essay1533 Words   |  7 Pages what is fake and what types of products, there are fakes. 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Latino Operation and Diversity Free Essays

In recent years The U.S. society’s idealized image is diminishing. We will write a custom essay sample on Latino Operation and Diversity or any similar topic only for you Order Now    In the United States the process of labeling the group of individuals affects the meaning of citizenship. Oboler discovers the history of â€Å"Hispanics† and explains the meaning of ethnicity that contributes in forming people’s lives and identities. Oboler has conducted many interviews with the different groups known as â€Å"Hispanics† and noted down many social values of this group. By illustrating it Oboler further says that a Mexican has different historical relationship with the U.S. and different cultural background like Brazilian descent. â€Å"Hispanics† also contain different meanings and social values, which matches to their social position, gender and also their social values following their country of origin.  Without social planning Latinos union can never be a reality. There are many issues that hamper the ethnic emergence. The cultural ground is very isolated. The actions of the states are very contradictory to give any hope to the emergence of the new Latino ethnicity.  In the paper we will argue that Latin American Groups in this country require a lots of research that aspires to educate them about their culture, which is vibrant. There is a requirement that Latin Americans should know about their literature as there is no place of rich Hispanic literature in U.S. educational system. In the U.S. this disparity, based on cultural differences, is exaggerated by the cultural loss. In this society the Latinos has to compete the new settings. The U.S. is a very big country and the different socio-cultural groups and individuals survive under the condition of competitions. The adaptation of these multi-cultural socio groups varies from the residential separations of Mexicans who are living in the parts of the Southwest to the Blacks and Cubans in South Florida (B.E. Aguirre and Rogelio Saenz).  The Latino identity is affected by the geographic distribution also. The Cuban population has great diversity. Similarly, the ethnic identity in Mexicans is really exciting. They have many ethnic labels like â€Å"Mexican American†, â€Å"Chicanos†, and â€Å"Mexican†. In fact Mexican originated people who use the label â€Å"Hispanics† are criticized to get more general ethnic identity (B.E. Aguirre and Rogelio Saenz). Actually, Latinos should be educated about the categories created by the other ethnic groups. There is the need of creating a realistic appreciation among the Latinos so they can get involved with the different cultural groups.  It is very difficult to establish a Latino identity in different Latino ethnic groups. Latinos general movement prefers Latinism and it generates the specific movement organization. It’s important part will be to establish a school to train the members of this group about Latino activities (B.E. Aguirre and Rogelio Saenz). It has been observed that big societal forces play important role in a student’s learning and that happens within a particular ethnic and racial community. A teacher’s expectation is also different from different race student. So the different level of teaching is also adopted for various ethnic groups. If we compare the White and Asian students to Africans and Latinos, then we will find that Latinos and Africans are positioned in lower academic tracks (Jerome E Morris et all).  Ogbu has developed a cultural ecological model where he explains why the schools are failure. He encourages the ethnic groups to enter the dominant society by making group entry. Here he includes immigrant minorities such as African immigrants, Asian Americans and immigrants from the Caribbean and also Native Americans. Now it is there in the news that many of Hispanics are living in jails instead of going schools. This number of Hispanics in jails increased in 1980s. in 2006 it was 90 percent that is less in comparison to 94 percent in 1980s. References: More blacks, Latinos in jail than college dorms, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21001543/ Morris, Jerome E, Ethnicity Race and Culture – Latino Growth, Racial And Ethnic Minority Students In Higher Education – CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS AND STUDENT LEARNING, Oboler, Suzanne, Ethnic Lebels, Latino Lives, Identity and the Politics of (Re)Presentation in the United States, University of Minnesota press, How to cite Latino Operation and Diversity, Essay examples

The Irony of Capital Punishment free essay sample

The Irony of Capital Punishment Capital punishment has been a part of our justice system since the beginning. For many years the controversy of the death penalty has created social issues that question the validity and fairness based on concerns of moral and human rights. Even though many other nations use this form of justice, the fact that the United States views itself as a leader of human rights brings question to whether we are practicing what we preach. Nevertheless, the majority of US citizens are in support of the death penalty but does that make it rational?In the following paragraphs I will discuss my opinions on capital punishment and talk about issues concerning the death penalty as a deterrent to crime, should it be abolished and whether should youths convicted of violent crimes receive the death penalty. I will also explain how the irony of capital punishment makes it an issue of ethics having that both sides of this issue have valid positions that will keep the idea th at as long as there is crime, capital punishment is here to stay whether we like it or not. One of the main purposes of capital punishment is to prevent other violators from committing violent crimes; yet and still crime rates remains relatively high in the United States. I feel as though when people participate in acts of violence, especially murder, the thought of some sort of extreme punishment is considered. In an article, The States and the Death Penalty by David C. Nice, he informs how conservatives feel severe penalties are needed to deter crimes and that liberals believe that some crimes are due to forces beyond an individuals control and can be rehabilitated.On the other hand, there are some criminals that do not care about the fate of their own lives and in some cases commit suicide after they have killed. Once this has happened capital punishment is no longer a deterrent but just another form of retribution. The fact is the death penalty is not an efficient way to deter crime and I believe saying that it does deter crimes is â€Å"sugar coating† the issue. We would like to think that if people knew they would be extremely punished for heinous crimes, violence would cease, but in a world with no remorse capital punishment is a solution to settle the score.My position on the death penalty is parallel to the majority of most citizens. I do believe that it is necessary in certain cases, but there should certainly be fairness across all margins to prevent specific groups, such as the poor and minorities, to not be subjected because of inadequate defenses. The article, The Death Penalty in the United States and Worldwide, from the text points out that â€Å"poor people cannot afford to hire the best lawyers, but must rely on court-appointed attorneys, who typically are overworked and underpaid† (pg 177). Also criminals who are proven to be mentally ill should be exempt.Other scenarios, however, call for the merciless alternative of justice; for example individuals involved in mass murders such as shootings, bombings and other terror attacks are a major threat to society and should be put to death. Life is so precious and valuable to me and someone with no regard for the lives of innocent people to easily kill is inhumane; therefore should not be able to walk this earth with mankind. I also feel that criminals who assassinate important figures such as the president should also get the death penalty. I do not feel the death penalty should be abolished mainly because it can deter acts of retaliation.Families of killed victims will always seek justice and the death penalty may be the only way they feel justice is served. Without capital punishment families may feel the need to put the law in their own hands. For those who are in favor of the death penalty feel that justice is practiced when people suffer for their wrongdoings based on the level of crime. Each criminal should get what their crime deserves and in the case of a murderer what their crime deserves is death. The degree of punishment in a given case must depend upon the brutality of the crime, the conduct of the criminal, and the defenseless and unprotected state of the victim. Imposition of proper penalty is the manner in which the courts respond to the societys cry for fairness against the criminals. Another case that supports capital punishment is the idea of â€Å"an eye for an eye† but to argue like that demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of what that Old Testament phrase actually means. In fact the Old Testament meaning of an eye for an eye is that only the guilty should be punished, and they should punished neither too lenient or too severely. It seems to me that the argument of â€Å"eye for an eye† I believe that it has more to do with vengeance than retribution or justice.The anticipatory suffering of the criminal, who may be kept on death row for many years, makes the punishment more severe than just depriving the criminal of life. Some believers in the death penalties see this issue as an undeniably efficient way to insure offender will not commit anymore crimes. On the other hand, many people dont think that this is sufficie nt justification for taking human life, and argue that there are other ways to ensure the offenders do not re-offend, such as imprisonment for life without possibility of parole. Although there have been cases of persons escaping from prison and killing again, these are extremely rare. But some people dont believe that life imprisonment without parole protects society adequately. The offender may no longer be a danger to the public, but he remains a danger to prison staff and other inmates and execution would remove that danger. On the other side of this ethical argument, just as many found reasons to support capital punishment. I found that the most important reason many oppose the death penalty is because of the strong belief in the value of life.Although some think that the death penalty is very necessary others feel as though life is so valuable that even the worst murderers should not be deprived of the value of their lives. Every person has an indisputable human right to life, even those who commit murder; sentencing a person to death and executing them violates that right (Brettschneider). This is very similar to the value of life argument, but approached from the perspective of human rights. The counter-argument is that a person can, by their actions, forfeit human rights, and that murderers forfeit their right to life (Brettschneider).For example when a very violent person begins murderous assaults on someone, they have given up their right to live simply because a victim also has the right to defend his/her self even if that means taking the life of the attacker. Thomas Aquinas, who was a medieval philosopher, gives and explanation of the need and legitimate use of capital punishment as follows: â€Å"Therefore if any man is dangerous to the community and is subverting it by some sin, the treatment to be commended is his execution in order to preserve the common goodTherefore to kill a man who retains his natural worthiness is intrinsically evil, although it may be justifiable to kill a sinner just as it is to kill a beast, for, as Aristotle points out, an evil m an is worse than a beast and more harmful†. Aquinas explains how a malicious act, such as murder, can be turned into a good act by killing to renovate the violation of justice done by the person killed, and killing a person who has forfeited their natural worthiness by killing another (Radelet and Borg). Another concern that non supporters of capital punishment argue is the possibility of sentencing the innocent to death.Great effort has been made in pretrial, trial, appeals, writ and clemency procedures to minimize the chance of an innocent being convicted, sentenced to death or executed. Since 1973, legal protections have been so extraordinary that 37% of all death row cases have been overturned for due process reasons or commuted (Ehrlich). Nevertheless our judicial system still is not perfect. Trial witnesses, prosecutors and jurors can all make mistakes. When this is coupled with imperfections in the system it is inevitable that innocent people will be convicted of crimes. Where capital punishment is used such mistakes cannot be put right. There is ample evidence that such mistakes are possible in the USA, 116 people sentenced to death have been found innocent since 1973 and released from death row. The average time on death row before these exonerations was 9 years (Ehrlich). As far as a deterrent to other murderers, likewise, the death penalty has proved a signal failure, as may be seen by comparing the criminal statistics of those countries where the punishment is in force with those of countries where it has been abolished (Rankin).It is also not the reason of this failure far to inquire about. Murders are almost always committed in sudden fits of passion or temporary insanity, when no contemplation of reason or self-interest can appeal to the doer. With that said, such uncertainty attends the consummation of the death sentence which is due to the natural hesitation and partiality to the mercy of judge and jury, to the chances of reprieve and comm utation that this penalty is far less deterrent than are those penalties which, though less severe, are also more certain. Finally, we have not answered the question whether there are not other and more effective deterrents. There are such deterrents, in comparison with which capital punishment is seen to be clumsy and unsuccessful in the extreme. Some non supporters of the death penalty also feel as though it is a waste of not only money but also resources. Although supporters of the death penalty would argue that capital punishment is more economically efficient than life in prison, it consumes the time and energy of courts, prosecuting attorneys, defense counsel, juries, and courtroom and correctional personnel.It disproportionately burdens the system of criminal justice, and it is therefore counterproductive as an instrument for societys control of violent crime. It epitomizes the tragic inefficacy and brutality of the resort to violence rather than reason for the solution of difficult social problems. From a Christian point, I feel as though capital punishment is synonymous to a denial of the divine nature of mankind. On what principles of religion or philosophy can we justify the policy of depriving a human being like ourselves of all possibility of reform?If we profess to revere a God of mercy and justice, and if we ourselves plead and rely on that divine mercy and justice, how can we reconcile it with our duty, as men created in the divine image, to dismiss in consequence roughly a fellow human being from our midst and send him into the presence of the holy being whom we have outraged? Surely it is our duty and our privilege to be the agents of divine justice and mercy, and to exert to the highest our god-given powers in the endeavor to assist our fallen brother to his feet.In a debate with such strong feelings on both sides, data is open to manipulation by parties wishing to influence public sentiment. Data such as that above seems to strongly favor the continuation of capital punishment since it makes an all or nothing correlation between the death penalty and deterring crime. Studies from t he other side of the debate counter these data stating that publicized executions did not have an effect on the murder rate but that it is naturally prone to statistical variation.In conclusion, although there are literally thousands of studies championing one side or another, even implicitly, it is difficult to get figures every group agrees upon. This suggests that greater public opinion research is needed as well as a greater and non-biased effort at data collection processes. While this is not meant to take sides it is worth suggesting that the debate about capital punishment is so divisive because it appeals so directly to emotion and personal feelings. As is the case in other arenas that instigate such strong sentiment (the abortion or stem cell arguments, for example) sometimes the facts are overlooked in favor of these moral internal ethical questions.